Luol Deng remained hospitalized Saturday morning, and has been ruled out for Game 7 in Brooklyn between the Bulls and the Nets, reports ESPN Chicago.

Deng missed Game 6 with what was originally thought to be a severe case of the flu, but it turned out he was dealing with something far more serious. He was required to undergo a spinal tap on Thursday, and has been in and out of the hospital ever since.

“It really upsets me that everyone thinks I would miss a game bc of the flu. I’ve played a lot of games w the flu in my career,” Deng posted to his Twitter account on Friday.

The Bulls are hopeful that Kirk Hinrich can go after missing Game 6. He remains a game time decision with a bruised calf.

Deng was one of the Bulls most reliable and important players all year long. He was selected to the All-Star team as a reserve by the coaches in the Eastern Conference, and averaged 16.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, and three assists in 38.7 minutes per game this season.

get well soon deng.
but on a basketball note, does this hurt the bulls if they try to trade him this summer ? there seems to always be something randomly wrong with deng in recent years. but he does try to still play, so props to him. this one however, is out of his control. good luck in the hospital.

I don’t think so – He played in 75 out of 82 games this year, 54 out of 66 last year, and 82 out of 82 the year before. That’s 19 missed games the past 3 seasons, while logging heavy minutes each year – 37.9 MPG in 2010, 39.1 MPG in 2011, and 39.4 MPG in 2012.

And his high salary – $14.3 million. The drop in efficiency the two seasons in which Derrick Rose missed significant time will make teams reluctant to view him as a viable #1 or #2 option. However, while his salary is high, he is an expiring contract next year, and he could be a good fit for a win-now team looking for a very good wing defender who could be the third-option on offense in a championship run.

Coming from a Nets fan, Deng is a stand up, hard nosed player…too bad Rose couldn’t learn a thing or two from him (for the bulls sake). I bet if deng was over a yr past having knee surgery he would be playing (as would most nba players). I hate to talk about players injuries and I usually do not — but Rose looks like a real joke and when he finally returns next year, the Chicago faithful should boo him out of the building.

You’re assuming Rose actually returns next season. After all, he’s been medically cleared to play for 3 months now. What difference will another 5 months make in his historically fragile confidence? His “muscle memory” still might only be “at 90 percent” in October. Then there’s that whole dunking off the left leg thing… because everybody know how vital it is to a PG to be able to dunk comfortably off his left leg… three times a season.

I don’t post here much, but have a basketball question. Why does Derrick Rose get a pass? If this was James, Anthony, or almost any other star, they would be destroyed in the media and pubic opinion. He has been cleared to play, his team is in the playoffs. Not to mention the millions he makes. Is there something I’m missing here?

I will say again, I think only a player gets to decide when he is right and can come back from injury. The Bulls are with me, he is getting NO PRESSURE from the Bulls. And his teammates still love him. Only fans who have no idea what his knee feels like say he should be out there.

As I’ve said, Rose’s error is saying he is not coming back this year, it keeps the story alive.

Deng is a solid player, and has played tough for years. He should be a Bull for life, he gives the Bulls awesome defense with outside shooting and transition points, I think he is perfect on this lineup and Coach T uses him well. A spinal tap? Give the guy a break, the basketball gods have, they live to fight again. Ad he gives Lebron trouble.
Yeah, the Rose thing is annoying. Why can’t we just say he is out for the season and move on. It was a serious injury and he needs the knee to be solid the way he plays. I hope his work on shooting outside will smarten up his need to drive in traffic and give him more durability in the long term. I like Rose, and wish him and the Bulls the best. If he decides to come back for Miami I hope the rest of the guys are able to play, and really make it all worth while.